DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Saturday, May 18

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Exodus, Ezekiel, Ephesians, 1 Peter and Matthew.

Psalm 33

1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!     Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;     make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song;     play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright,     and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice;     the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,     and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;     he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;     let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be;     he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;     he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,     the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,     the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven;     he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out     on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all     and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army;     a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,     and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,     on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death     and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord;     he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him,     because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,     even as we hope in you.

Psalm 107:33-43

33 He turns rivers into a desert,     springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,     because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into pools of water,     a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,     and they establish a city to live in; 37 they sow fields and plant vineyards     and get a fruitful yield. 38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,     and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39 When they are diminished and brought low     through oppression, evil, and sorrow, 40 he pours contempt on princes     and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction     and makes their families like flocks. 42 The upright see it and are glad,     and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;     let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 108

1 My heart is steadfast, O God!     I will sing and make melody with all my being! 2 Awake, O harp and lyre!     I will awake the dawn! 3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;     I will sing praises to you among the nations. 4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;     your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!     Let your glory be over all the earth! 6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,     give salvation by your right hand and answer me! 7 God has promised in his holiness:     “With exultation I will divide up Shechem     and portion out the Valley of Succoth. 8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;     Ephraim is my helmet,     Judah my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin;     upon Edom I cast my shoe;     over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?     Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Have you not rejected us, O God?     You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 12 Oh grant us help against the foe,     for vain is the salvation of man! 13 With God we shall do valiantly;     it is he who will tread down our foes.

Exodus 19:3-8a, 16-20

3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” ... 16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Ezekiel 6:10-14

10 And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.” 11 Thus says the Lord God: “Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land desolate and waste, in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:10-24

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

1 Peter 2:4-10

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:     “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,     a cornerstone chosen and precious,     and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,     “The stone that the builders rejected     has become the cornerstone,” 8 and     “A stone of stumbling,     and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Matthew 9:18-26

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.